


One Down.

by Mystrothedefender



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-03
Packaged: 2017-12-28 17:06:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystrothedefender/pseuds/Mystrothedefender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Feliciano's first day, in a new school, in a new country and he turns to Ludwig for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Down.

Ludwig coughed out a moan as the alarm forced his eyes to open.

“…Oh gott…” he growled loudly, thrusting out an odd wiggle on the bed as he stretched himself out and cricked his back.

Seconds later the was a string of loud thumps on the door and that ever annoying drawn out call of “West!” from his brother, “Get out from those covers or I will force you out!”

By this he meant that he would come into the room and literally pull Ludwig from the bed by his ankles.

“I am awake,” Ludwig’s voice cracked as he replied.

“I don’t just want you away, lil’ Luddy, I want you _up_.”

Ludwig forced his legs off the bed, pressing the soles of his feet to the floor, “My feet are on the ground, brother, I am up.”

“Good,” came the reply, “I am making you breakfast, it will be ready shortly.”

Ludwig pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the fuzziness in his eyes and head, and he pulled open the curtains. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see but saw darkness. He wasn’t averse to early mornings, but anything before sunrise always seemed a little much.

He managed to wake himself a little more as he walked to the kitchen.

He was greeted pleasantly by toast and orange juice, laid out on the table by his older brother as he too got ready for school.

As he ate there was no conversation between them, other than Gilbert pointing out that Ludwig’s hair looked weird before it was brushed back. “Your hair always looks weird,” Ludwig responded sleepily as he finished his food and got up, heading for the bathroom, putting his plate in the dishwasher as he passed it.

He washed himself, which woke him fully, washed him face and fixed his hair. He was starting to feel a lot better as he dressed, deciding on dark jeans and a smart shirt that matched his eyes.

“You ready to leave?” Gilbert asked with a soft knock at the door, “Are you feeling well enough to go?”

He was referring to the head cold Ludwig had had for the past 3 days.

“You look a little pale,” Gilbert added.

Ludwig shook his head, “I am fine,” he insisted. He still felt a little fuzzy headed really, but he wanted to see Kiku again, he’d not seen him all summer.

Gilbert nodded, “Check through your bags and we’ll leave.”

Ludwig nodded at the instruction and turned to get his bag which he’d packed the night before, “Aren’t you going to check yours?” he asked his brother.

“Oh no, West,” Gilbert cooed, “You know I’m too smart and awesome to forget anything, you, on the other hand, have been ill, and you get forgetful when you’re ill.”

“…Ja ja…” Ludwig growled as he threw his bag over his shoulder, “Let’s just go.”

Ludwig liked living close to the school; less than a 20 minute walk away in fact, it meant he didn’t have to get up as early as the rest of his classmates, but he also hated it because it was always _there_. His classmates didn’t have it looming over them all through the holidays…

And, his school, honestly speaking, was shit…

There was a major bullying problem, the teachers were half mad and their curriculum was sub-par.

Gilbert locked the door as they left, quickly checking his aviary; making sure his birds had food and water before they set off. They walked east, then northwest, then crossed the road outside the school, and, as they walked, Gilbert made the same stupid joke that he always did:

“Hey, Ludwig, Harvey road. Harvey rode who?”

“Who?” Ludwig growled.

“I don’t know, not you though, virgin.”

Ludwig couldn’t wait until he had actually _had_ sex so he could be rid of that joke.

They walked through the dingy edged glass door and into the large hall of their highschool, horribly brightly painted locker dotting the walls and the occasional printed symbol of their nonsense school mascot.

He bid his brother goodbye and made his way to his new locker. He filled it with the majority of his new notebooks and books and he stood, waiting for Kiku to find him, as he knew he would.

“Hello,” Kiku’s voice came to him, Ludwig straightened up and smiled lightly, offering the man a small bow of hello.

“You enjoyed going to see your family?” Ludwig asked politely; the reason the two had not seen each other lately was that Kiku’s family insisted on going to see his relatives during the holidays.

Kiku shook his head, “I am afraid my grand father is not well. But I will deal with that later.” He forced a small smile, “There is a new boy in our class. He does not speak English very well.”

“Worse than you?” Ludwig asked, not meaning to be insulting but instantly realising that it could be taken that way.

Kiku’s smile widened a little and he nodded, “Hai… Yes. Much worse. He is taking lessons though, and he seems nice.”

“You have talked to him?” Ludwig asked, again missing his tone and accidentally sounding possessive.

Kiku shook his head, “No, but I saw him and his brother come in ten minutes ago.”

Ludwig nodded, not really caring about the prospect of socialising. “We should go,” he said to his friend, “It’s getting late.”

They walked quickly to their first class, English Language, and found there was no seating plan, so they picked their own seats. Last into the room was who Ludwig assumed was the new boy; light brown hair and a shirt that matched his own in colour. The boy noticed this and his eyes immediately lit up.

“That’s him,” Kiku pointed out as the boy’s eyes fixed on the chair in front of Ludwig’s.

Ludwig let out a tiny growl as the boy approached, keeping his eyes on him as he took the seat.

The boy smiled at Ludwig as he sat down, keeping his head turned he pulled a face of deep concentration, “Hello,” he said finally, “Our clothes are the same,” he stated happily, “We are brothers.”

Ludwig smiled gently, and the boy let out a small squeak of happiness, as if the smile was clarification. “I am told to make a friend and stay with them, and learn this house,” the boy continued, doing his best to not mess up the pronunciation of his words.

Ludwig sighed slightly; it was normal for the new kids to be told this, but no one had picked him before. He was too big and tall, he intimidated most students, and had been mistaken for a teacher several times.

The boy smiled widely; he had not replied no, so that must mean it was ok. “My name is Feliciano Vargas,” he said perfectly, obviously the first thing he had been taught, “I am from Italia, and I have moved here while my grandfather works. I don’t know English very well, so please forgive me if I do it wrong, but I am trying very hard!”

Ludwig nodded politely, then turned his head to Kiku, “The new boy wants to be mein _brother_ ,” he growled.

The boy looked over at Kiku and smiled again, “I would be a good brother,” he affirmed.

Kiku swallowed gently, “I think maybe he is mistaking the word brother for friend…”

“But he said friend already,” Ludwig contested. He turned to the Italian, speaking slower than he would usually, “You keep calling me brother, uh…” he tried to remember what little Italian he had learned while on holiday there as a child, “ _Frattello?_ ”

The boy seemed to perk up instantly, “Si, si!” he said loudly, bringing the attention of the whole class to them, “Saremo così vicini saremo come fratelli!” he jabbered out, “Sapete italiana che è così buono, avevo paura che nessuno lo saprebbe!”

Ludwig frowned at him, unable to understand him because he was talking so fast. “Slow down,” he snapped, “I can’t understand a thing you’re saying!”

The boy seemed to recoil, closing his mouth as his smiled disappeared, he turned on his chair, seeming to deflate.

“You have upset him,” Kiku said quietly.

Ludwig stared at the back of the boys head, he hadn’t meant to upset him, he was about to reach out to get his attention back but the teacher walked in, and he room fell silent other than the oddly loud breaths of the Italian boy. Ludwig feared he were crying.

He kept an eye on Feliciano through the class, watching him receive books and papers but not ultimately doing anything.

He felt awful; this was this boy’s first day in a new school in a new country and his first attempt to make a friend had been so rudely rebuked. Ludwig would be upset as well had it happened to him.

They were allowed ten minutes at the end of the class to read over the new notes they had been given, Ludwig took this time to lean forward and tap the boy on the shoulder.

The boy jumped at the touch, and slowly turned his head, looking at Ludwig with wide and fearful eyes. “Yes?” he said slowly, as if Ludwig would explode at him at any moment.

“I am sorry if I seemed rude,” Ludwig said slowly, calm and trying to seem friendly, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

The boy smiled gently, mulling over what the German had said and trying to find meaning, “That is ok… I may have been confused,” he said, seeming happier again.

Ludwig nodded, unsure of what to say now, “What class do you have next?” he asked, “I could walk you there if it’s close to mine?”

Feliciano’s smile widened, “Ok,” he pulled out a piece of paper, covered in Italian scrawl and a few numbers, “It is this,” he said as he pointed at one of the numbers, the room right next to Ludwig’s next.

Ludwig smiled gently, “I can walk you there,” he offered kindly.

The boy squeaked gently, “Si? Oh that would be-“ he paused for a second, trying to find the word to express himself, “W-…wonderful.”

Ludwig nodded in conformation; that would make up for any offence he had caused, and would hopefully help the boy settle.

“Where have you moved from?” Ludwig asked, hoping to keep the conversation going until class ended to divert any awkwardness.

Feliciano seemed slightly more tentative while answering this time, not wanting to annoy his potential new friend, “I am from Narni, in Italy. I… will miss it.”

“Oh,” Ludwig mused, unable to say that he had heard of the place, “I have only been to Rome… It was beautiful there.”

The boy nodded, “It is,” he said softly, his smile dropped slightly as he remembered the places he might never see again.

“I would like to go back,” Ludwig added truthfully; he had loved how it had looked in the summer, he would like to return and see it in winter too.

Feliciano gave Ludwig a listless nod, “Yes, you should, it is belle.”

Ludwig really had no idea, he knew to keep the conversation simple because the boy didn’t know much English, but he couldn’t think of anything _simple_ to say.

“Do you like it here?” he settled on asking.

Feliciano nodded, “Everyone is amico,” he stated, “And all the girls are very… friendly and very pretty.”

Ludwig nodded; he had noticed the small group of eyes that had been fixed on Feliciano since he entered the room. He thought it was odd that none of them had approached him when he had seemed upset.

“The girls are not as good as they appear to be,” Ludwig advised, shaking his head a little and glancing over his shoulder towards them.

Feliciano nodded, his eyes dropping from Ludwig’s own for a second, “Si,” he said slowly, “Or you would have parecchi following you around.”

Ludwig smiled and shook his head, “No, they have never been interested in me, nor me in them.”

The boy’s mouth twitched slightly and his head drooped again, “Si, me too,” he said quietly.

“That is nothing to be ashamed of,” Ludwig said in his own defence; learned behaviour from being picked on constantly by his brother, “It takes time for some people to find their type.”

The Italian seemed to perk up at the sentence, and, after looking up at the clock, he began to pack his books into his bag, realising that it was almost time to leave. “I would like to walk with you,” he said with a smile, “It would be nice to have a brother to show me the ways.”

Ludwig nodded and turned his head to Kiku, who had been observing in relative silence. “Where do you have to go?” Ludwig asked.

“I have to go and talk to the head of year,” Kiku stated, “They have mislabelled my name, and I must fix it.”

Ludwig nodded, turning back to Feliciano, “Then it will just be you and I,” he pointed out.

Feliciano let out a small squeak as his smile widened, “Yes,” he squeaked, “Ok.”

Ludwig, slightly confused by his enthusiasm, got up from his chair as the bell rang, flinging his bag over his shoulders as Kiku grabbed his and rushed off, along with most of the other people in the room.

One of the girls who had been sitting across the room approached them, smiling widely, “Hello,” she said softly to the foreign boy, “I think I’m in the same class as you next period, would you like me to walk with you?”

The boy’s face contorted in what seemed to be shock, “Oh bella,” he said quickly, “Ho già un bel uomo per farmi vedere, non è necessario mi dispiace.”

The girl looked at him, still smiling but seeming a little confused, “Oh,” she gasped, “You don’t speak English at all?”

Ludwig cleared his throat, placing himself between Feliciano and this girl. “I’m taking him, you don’t need to trouble yourself.”

The girl scowled at Feliciano and left the room, moving fast to catch up with her friends.

“Why did you not speak English?” Ludwig asked Feliciano once she had left.

The boy shrugged, “I would rather walk with you, as I said, I am incerto about those girls.”

Ludwig let out a noise of agreement as he began to lead the boy from the room and down the sort corridor that led to Feliciano’s class, “I understand,” he said as they walked, feeling an odd discomfort fall over him as they moved in silence. “What are you enjoying about this country?” he asked curiously.

Feliciano smiled widely, looking up at the tall boy, “Oh, everything here is large, much more than Rome.”

“Anything else?” Ludwig questioned.

The boy let out a tiny hum as he thought of things he liked, “I like the sports here… but I would rather watch.”

Ludwig nodded, “I do too, I like the pole-vault.”

“Do you compete?” Feliciano asked, seeming incredibly interested.

Ludwig nodded, smiling a little, happy to show off his acheivements, “Yes, I have won the past two competitions.”

Feliciano let out a small squeak, “Did you get… a… prize? A prize for winning?”

Ludwig nodded again, “I have to trophies, they sit in my room.”

“Oh,” Feliciano cooed, “I would like to see you pole-vault, it would be fun!”

“Yes,” Ludwig agreed, “Well they are doing tests today, after school. You could come and watch me then?”

Feliciano nodded happily, bouncing slightly on his feet as he did, “That would be fantastic!” he said loudly, “I will tell my fratello at lunch. This will be very fun, uh… What was your name?” he asked quickly.

“Ludwig,” Ludwig smiled, “Ludwig Beilschmidt.”

Feliciano nodded, stopping in his tracks as he noticed they were by the room his class was in. “Ludwig Beilschmidt… I will see you after school, and watch you do sport,” he recited.

Ludwig nodded in reply again, then flinched as the smaller boy lifted himself onto his tip toes, and pressed their lips together. And his heart stopped.

The boy let out a tiny hum, and let himself fall back onto his heels before flashing a small smile and walking into the room.

“It,” Ludwig stuttered, his breath catching in his suddenly dry throat, “It… was nice meeting you.”

 .

Ludwig was still feeling dazed by what had happened as he walked to the lunch hall that afternoon. He’d not been able to concentrate fully through his past two lessons, and had answered several of the teachers questions wrong, humiliating himself.

He looked around the room for somewhere to sit, seeing his brother sitting with a couple of other boys, laughing his head off at… something. He really didn’t feel like being harassed while he ate, so he didn’t want to sit there.

There had to be a spare seat somewhere.

He couldn’t see Kiku, and hadn’t seen him since first lesson. That worried him; what if something bad had happened?

He couldn’t see that boy either, Feliciano. He had hoped he’d be here. Just so he wouldn’t have to sit alone, so he could ask why he’d kissed him, why he kept paying the moment over in his head. Maybe Feliciano was doing so too? Maybe it was normal where he came from to kiss people like that?

Ludwig exhaled gently at the though of the kiss; that was his first kiss with another boy, it had felt so different to kissing a girl. He’d not felt this hung up after kissing any girl.

He found an empty seat, by himself, in the corner, and he watched the rabble as he began to eat his food, hoping that his friend would stumble in.

Kiku didn’t show up, however after a few minutes Feliciano stumbled his way in, followed by a few girls, he kept looking over his shoulder and talking to them in broken English, occasionally using the odd Italian word in place of a difficult English one. The girls were eating it up.

Ludwig rolled his eyes as he watched them giggle and hang on to his every word. It seemed the boy had decided that the girls here weren’t too bad.

Ludwig watched him walk through the hall, wondering if he would come over to say hello. He perked up when the boy looked his way, but he didn’t come over, he smiled and gave a frantic and happy wave before walking off to a table near Gilbert’s.

Feliciano sat next to a dark hair boy, hugging him and beginning to jabber in Italian, Ludwig assumed this was the brother. The dark haired boy looked up at the girls and shouted at them to leave and let them eat in peace. Feliciano flinched at the tone but smiled and waved at the girls as they left.

Ludwig continued looking over at them as he ate. He got to his feet once he finished and looked around again to see if Kiku had entered without him noticing. He didn’t see him, but as he moved from his seat Feliciano called to him loudly from the other side of the room.

“Ludwig!” he yelled, standing up and waving him over, “Come and meet my frattello!”

Ludwig swallowed hard and walked over, he had hoped to find Kiku before the end of lunch, but it didn’t look like that would happen now.

The dark haired boy glared up at him, seeming intent on not making a good first impression. Ludwig nodded at him in greeting and said a small hello. Feliciano gestured for him to sit down, turning to his brother and saying something in Italian cheerily.

“Ludwig,” the boy smiled, “Thankyou for helping me earlier, I have told mi frattello that I am to watch you later at sports. He wanted to say ciao.”

The brother grunted gently, “I have to stay late so I can drive him home… He seems to like you a lot, he called you his _brother_.”

Ludwig looked away, hoping that the boy hadn’t told his brother about their kiss, “Yes, I was rather confused by his interest myself.”

Feliciano looked between them, seeming confused at their speed of words. “This is my Frattello, his name is Romano Vargas.”

Ludwig smiled and stated his own name. Romano faked a smile and stuck out his hand to shake Ludwig’s. Ludwig felt the man squeeze his hand tight, as if it were meant to intimidate him, so he squeezed back harder and saw the boy’s lips tighten as he did, quickly retracting his hand as a frown appeared on his face.

“It is nice to meet you, Romano,” Ludwig said gently as he too retracted his hand.

“Romano!” Feliciano squeaked happily at his brother, spilling out a long sentence of Italian before turning his head to Ludwig, “Romano is going to come and see you pole-vault this evening!” he half-shouted, “Oh Ludwig I think you will look fantastico!”

Romano glared at his brother, then turned his eyes to Ludwig, “I am only coming because I have nothing better to do,” he mumbled.

Ludwig let out a small grunt of acknowledgement, then moved his eyes past them, to where Gilbert sat, watching as he got to his feet. He hoped that he wouldn’t notice him, but Feliciano’s shouting had obviously gained his attention.

As the older boy walked past he outstretched a hand to fluff up Ludwig’s hair, something he knew Ludwig hated, “Bruter,” he said, sounding oddly friendly, “You have new friends? Don’t you want to introduce me, or are you afraid they will like me more?” he jibed with his usual smirk, “Where’s the Japanese boy you are _friends_ with? Or did you dump him for the little one?” he asked, ‘little one’ meaning Feliciano.

“I do not know where Kiku is, Gilbert,” Ludwig answered as he shied away from Gilbert’s hand, choosing to ignore the other questions. The man clasped his hand to Ludwig’s shoulder and sat down next to him, looking over the table at the two foreign boys.

“You’re the new ones from Italy aren’t you?” he said in over overly obnoxious tone, speaking loud and slow, still smirking, “Can you understand me?”

Romano glared at him, while Feliciano seemed to cower slightly from the man’s condescension huddling closer to his brother’s side. “I understand you perfectly, idiot,” Romano growled, “I have been speaking English since I was fucking 7, I most likely speak it better than your fucking arse.”

Gilbert frowned, “You are so mouthy, little boy, why? Does swearing make you feel big?” He turned to his brother as he got up, “You pick _great_ friends, little bruter. No wonder no girls like you…”

Feliciano chose this point to speak, letting out what Ludwig thought was the worst thing he could possibly say: “Ludwig doesn’t like girls.”

Gilbert’s mouth stretched into a smile, “Oh is that so?” he cooed loudly, squeezing Ludwig’s shoulder, “Oh mein bruter… I know I joke but I didn’t know it was true. Oh, bruter, you’re making me feel _so_ bad…”

“Shut up,” Ludwig snapped, shrugging off his brother’s hand, giving Feliciano a stern look.

“Is the little one your boyfriend?” Gilbert pursued, nodding to Feliciano and giving him a soft smile. Feliciano smiled back sheepishly, unsure of what to think of the new man at their table, he seemed to be very affectionate towards Ludwig though so surely that was a good thing.

“We did kiss earlier,” Feliciano said quietly in answer, not knowing the force of the response.

“What?!” Gilbert and Romano shouted in unison, looks of shock and disgust plastered on their faces, both turning to Ludwig.

“You kissed my brother?!” Romano screamed, bringing the attention of the entire room to them.

“You kissed him?!” Gilbert hissed loudly.

Ludwig recoiled in his seat, gritting his teeth.

“Why?!” The two older brother’s shouted, again I unison.

Ludwig felt his insides squirm as their eyes bored into him, Feliciano stepped in to defend his words, realising that he must have said something bad, “I kissed him,” he said in English, followed by the Italian natter of “Si prega di non essere arrabbiato con lui frattello, lo baciai.”

Romano turned his eyes to his brother, disgust on his face as if Feliciano had killed someone, “Why the fuck would you kiss this fucking bastard? You idiot! You’ve know him like 5 minutes, why would you do that?!”

Gilbert however, pulled a face of confusion and giggled, “Why would he kiss _you_?”

Feliciano curled in on himself as the older boy shouted at him, feeling the weight of the man’s anger crushing him, making him want to cry.

Ludwig frowned at the look of distress on the young boy’s face, and he raised himself to his feet, placing his palms on the table in front of him, “Don’t shout at him like that,” he said loudly to Romano, “He doesn’t deserve to be shouted at for doing something as innocent as _kissing_ someone.”

Romano huffed through gritted teeth as the German stared down at him, “ _Innocent_ kisses lead to less innocent things and I will not have you doing _that_ with my fucking brother!”

“I would not do that to your brother!” Ludwig yelled, unaware how loud he was shouting, “It was one kiss and nothing more!”

The last word was muffled by the sound of the bell, telling them they had 5 minutes to get to their next class. Ludwig pushed his chair back, retaking his bag, and turned to walk away, almost all eyes in the vicinity on him.

He was half way down the corridor, walking to his next class, when he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He turned, expecting it to be his brother, or Romano looking to continue their fight, but instead he found the bright, teary eyes of the younger Italian staring up at him.

They both stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to speak. Feliciano was the one who broke their silence, “W-Where is your next class?” he asked gently, “I could walk you maybe?”

Ludwig smiled slightly, “I’m perfectly able to make it to my room. Where is yours?”

Feliciano stuttered slightly as he pulled his timetable from his pocket, “It… It 217,” he said as he pointed to the number, as if he were worried he had said it wrong and needed clarification.

Ludwig nodded, “That is near mine. Perhaps I could walk _you?_ ” he asked, his smile slightly wider now.

Feliciano nodded and smiled, hopping to Ludwig’s side as they began to walk, “What is the class you have next?” he asked happily.

“Physics,” Ludwig informed, he liked physics but he was a little weirded out by the teacher he was to have this year; he looked like a slightly older version of himself, he had been asked before if they were related.

Feliciano nodded, “I have chemistry,” he said absentmindedly, “Mrs Benet is my teacher.”

“Oh you’ll like her,” Ludwig said to lighten Feliciano’s mood, “She’s very nice and she gives out chocolate to good students.”

Feliciano nodded, his smile widening, “I like chocolate,” he mumbled.

Ludwig swallowed hard; he knew he had to say it, but he was nervous about the boy’s response, “You know, I didn’t say that I didn’t like girls. I said I didn’t like the girls _here_.”

Feliciano frowned slightly in confusion, “Then…” he pondered, “Does that mean that you don’t like me? If you do like girls?”

He thought for a second, replying their kiss over in his head, how brilliant it had felt, “No, it does not mean that…”

The boy smiled again, “Then what does it matter?” he chirruped.

Ludwig smirked and looked down at his feet, “…It doesn’t, I suppose…” he said quietly.

“Ludwig?” Feliciano asked, “You like me?”

Ludwig huffed gently, thinking it through in his head again before giving a tiny nod.

“Then it doesn’t matter who else you might like, at the moment you like me, that is all that I care about.”

They came to a stop outside Feliciano’s classroom, and Ludwig turned to smile at the smaller boy, “I will see you after school?”

Feliciano nodded, his smile widening, “So I can see the pole-vaulting, si.”

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, they both knew what was going to happen, and it had happened before, but they were nervous none the less.

Feliciano lifted himself onto his toes and gently kissed the taller boy, feeling him kiss back this time.

He smiled as he pulled away from the German boy, “I’ll see you later,” he said gently as he turned to enter his class.

.

Ludwig went to his locker after his last class to fetch his gym clothes, with Kiku in tow, nattering on about this problem the school was having with his name; misspelling it in three different ways across the board. Ludwig nodded along with him but had stopped paying attention, his mind was else where, hoping now that he would pass the school trials, hopefully make the top 5.

“Ja,” he said again, checking the size of his shirt, making sure he had the right one.

“Then why did you just answer ‘Ja’? It’s rude to not listen to me,” Kiku frowned.

“Huh,” Ludwig said, finally bringing his eyes to Kiku’s face, “Was?”

“You are distracted,” Kiku pointed out, “Is it because of that Italian boy?”

“What?” Ludwig asked, scoffing slightly with the word, “Why would you think that?” He turned and began to walk towards the sports field and locker rooms

Kiku narrowed his eyes, “…Because he kissed you? I would expect that to distract you.”

“Oh,” Ludwig said, turning his eyes away and swallowing hard, “How did you hear about that?”

Kiku was having to skip slightly as he walked because Ludwig was walking so fast, not wanting to be late and be told off like he had last time.

“Everyone was talking about it in class. Everyone knows. They know you’re meeting him after your trial,” Kiku informed.

Ludwig stopped dead, “Was?” he asked, looking alarmed. He juddered to a halt and walked quickly to the window, looking out over the large sport field. “Shit!”

Laid out in the stands of the field were a hoard of people, more than there would normally have been at this kind of event. “There are so many people,” he growled.

“Yes,” Kiku nodded, walking to his friend’s side and looking over the crowd with him, “Students find out one of the star athletes is gay, they are going to want to watch you.”

“And judge me…” Ludwig added, frowning at them as they took their seats on the wooden benches.

Kiku scoffed, “Of course,” he chuckled, “This is highschool. You should expect nothing more.”

Ludwig felt a small swell of anger fill him; they wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for what Feliciano had done, they weren’t there for him or his talent. He swallowed hard and turned to continue walking to the locker room.

The pair separated at it’s entrance and Kiku went to find a seat. Ludwig changed himself, avoiding everyone he could, and he peeked his head out onto the field, joining the other athletes on a bench that was hidden from the stands.

“Hey,” he said in greeting to one of his old friends; a tall blond boy with a mousey voice. Ludwig had never cared enough to learn the boy’s name and he wasn’t sure if the boy knew Ludwig’s name either.

“Hey,” the boy said in return, smiling from his place on the bench as they waited their turn.

Ludwig stared down at him, wondering why he wasn’t talking. Did he usually not talk like this? He would usually ask how Ludwig was wouldn’t he? It had been over four months since Ludwig had seen him, he couldn’t remember what little interaction they had.

He sat on the bench beside him, crossing his arms and trying to peer round to see the crowds, wondering if Feliciano and his brother were there yet, hoping that he wasn’t being scrutinised by all these people.

“Y’look nervous,” the accented boy noted. Ludwig hadn’t noticed the boy’s eyes on him, but he was looking him over and he seemed concerned. “You know it’s nothing to be worried about, you did great last year,” he said with a gentle smile.

Ludwig shook his head, turning himself slightly on the bench so he could speak more directly, “I’m not nervous about that… There are so may people this time.”

The boy nodded, “There is _apparently_ a scout out there, I wouldn’t trust it though; it’s too early in the year.”

“A scout?” Ludwig asked with a frown, he shook his head, “I hope not,” he hadn’t practiced all summer, he’d kept in shape but that was all.

The boy nodded, “I’ll do my best, but I will probably be outshone…”

“The older boys will do better than us,” Ludwig added with a nod.

The boy nodded, he sighed and got to his feet, looking round to the crowded area, then to the field, where the jumps were. He frowned and sighed as the previous lot, try-outs for the previous year, left the field in a small hoard. “Good luck, eh,” he said quietly as he began to walk away.

“Yeah, good luck,” Ludwig replied politely as he followed.

He could feel the eyes on him, more than 50 pairs on him. He swallowed hard as he heard someone shout something from the crowd, he tried to ignore them, bearing down on him. He wondered if Feliciano had made it, if he were sitting in the stands watching him. But he didn’t dare look, one glance in their direction and he would begin to get nervous. He had to ignore them, and focus of clearing the bar.

Moments later he landed on the mat, letting out a slight ‘oof’ at the force of his landing, he turned his head to look up and see the bar, wobbling but still in place. He clapped his hands in triumph, and smiled as he got off the matt, now letting himself absorb the applause of the crowd.

“You did better than me,” the blond boy said from his place by the matt. “Congratulations,” he smiled as he outstretched his hand to shake Ludwig’s.

Ludwig nodded, panting slightly as he took the boy’s hand, “Congratulations to you too, you did well.”

“Top five,” the boy said happily, “Not bad but I can still do better.”

Ludwig made to continue their conversation, but he heard shouting behind him, a familiar voice calling his name, he turned his head to see Feliciano walking fast behind him.

“Ludwig!” the boy called as he came to Ludwig’s side, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a tight hug, burrowing his head into Ludwig’s barrel-like chest, “You did brillante, I’ve never seen anything so magnifico!” he called happily as he broke their hug, moving his hand to Ludwig’s and taking it gently.

Ludwig blushed, looking at the floor; he hadn’t expected Feliciano to be this affectionate in public. He looked up to see the blond boy looking between them, he smirked and nodded, “Hello,” the boy said to Feliciano, “I’m Matthew, nice to meet you.”

Feliciano smiled widely and went to hug him in greeting, “Ciao Matthew,” he cooed, “I’m Feliciano Vargas, I am from Italia, I am here while my grandfather works,” he looked between Ludwig and Matthew, “Are you one of Ludwig’s friend?” he asked kindly.

The blond nodded, “Yeah, kinda, we are in the same team, so I talk to him.”

Feliciano listened intently and nodded, then looked towards Ludwig again “You have very lovely friends Ludwig,” he smiled, “I would like to be friends with them too.”

Ludwig nodded softly, “Yes, well, it takes time to make friendships.”

Feliciano frowned and shook his head, “I’ve only known you for a day and you are already more than just my friend.”

Ludwig squeezed the boy’s hand slightly, “I suppose, but, um,” he looked up at Matthew, “Feliciano, do you mind if I talk to you in private?”

Feliciano nodded, smiling gleefully, “Of course Ludwig,” he replied, pulling Ludwig after him towards the changing rooms, “There will be space over here.”

Ludwig let the boy lead him into the concrete porch-way, he leant against the closed door and waited for Ludwig to speak.

Ludwig sighed slightly as he tried to put his thoughts into words. “I like you, Feliciano,” he said slowly, the words received with a loud and happy squeak from the smaller boy.

“I like you too Ludwig, you are very nice to me and very prestante,” the Italian said quickly.

Ludwig swallowed, unsure what the last word meant but assuming it was something positive, “Yes, you too, but, we’ve only known each other for one day,” he began, speaking slowly in the hopes that the boy wouldn’t misunderstand him, “I do like you.”

Feliciano cocked his head, “If you like me, and I like you, what’s the problem?”

Ludwig hung his head, “People… aren’t always accepting of people’s relationships, not here. I would like to make sure that we like each other _enough_ to… make it worth the hassle we might get.”

Feliciano smiled, “Every relationship is worth it.”

Ludwig exhaled, “I don’t feel the same, in that respect.”

“Why?” Feliciano asked, “If you like someone, you should tell them. Because if you don’t then they might leave the next day and not come back, and you will never know.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t know how each other feel, I think _that_ is important. But other people shouldn’t know,” Ludwig spelled out.

“Oh,” Feliciano nodded, “Ok, if you don’t want me to tell people then I won’t tell people.” He scuffed his feet on the floor and looked over the larger boy’s frame, “What about holding hands? And kisses?”

Ludwig let out a noise of discomfort; he’d never really been in a relationship before, he was starting to worry that he was dictating what Feliciano could do. “I… would prefer not to kiss in front of people, but holding hands should be ok.”

Feliciano smiled and outstretched his hand to take Ludwig’s, “Ok, I will never let your hand go, then,” he smiled, “Shall we go back to the field, my brother might be looking for me.”

Ludwig smiled in return and held Feliciano’s hand, letting the boy essentially drag him back to the field. Ludwig loved how full of energy the boy was, how happy and uninhibited he seemed.

“Frattello!” the boy shouted, gaining speed as he saw his brother and pulling Ludwig along behind him, his grip on that larger boy’s hand tightening as he moved.

Romano looked in their direction, immediately frowning at the sight of their entwined hands, “Bastard…” he mumbled under his breath as the two halted in front of him.

“Wasn’t Ludwig amazing Romano?! He looked like he was flying and he didn’t make the bar fall,” Feliciano jabbered, smiling widely at his own use of English. Ludwig knew he wasn’t comfortable with the language, the only reason he’d speak English in front of someone who knew Italian was because he wanted Ludwig to understand as well.

His brother though, showed no such courtesy, “Si muoveva come un _angelo_ cazzo,” he drawled with a roll of his eyes.

Feliciano frowned, “Frattello, don’t be so rude,” he moaned. He turned his eyes to Ludwig, “He said you move like an angelo…uh…” he thought for a second, making sure the translation he had in his head was correct,” A beautiful angel.”

Ludwig huffed gently; he had been able to tell from Romano’s tone that he had said it mockingly. “Thank you, Romano,” he said dryly, smiling more for Feliciano’s benefit than his own.

He couldn’t help wondering why Feliciano had been so forward with him, and why Romano seemed to hate him so much, like the two had decided their emotions immediately.

“Do you think your brother is here, Ludwig?” Feliciano asked, looking around to try and find the older boy in the crowd.

Ludwig shook his head, not bothering to look because he knew Gilbert wouldn’t be there, “No,” he stated, “He wouldn’t have come, he would have walked home to check on the birds.”

Feliciano’s eyes snapped to Ludwig and his mouth split into a wide smile “You have birds?”

Ludwig smiled back and nodded, “Ja, I have one, my brother has five.”

“May I see them?” Feliciano asked, Ludwig smiled and nodded in reply.

Feliciano looked between his brother and Ludwig, his eyes stopping on Romano, “Prego possa…” he pled to his brother.

Romano shook his head, “We should go home, Feli,” he said quietly.

Feliciano frowned, “Please!” he said loudly, his eyes wide.

Romano looked up at Ludwig and let out a small growl, “What is the address?” he lowly.

Ludwig paused for a moment, then told the boy his house number and street name. Romano nodded but didn’t write it down or anything as Ludwig would have expected. “Keep your phone with you,” he said, the words directed at his younger brother even though his eyes were stuck on the blond, “I’ll pick you up in an hour, Feli.”

Feliciano gasped loudly, “Grazie, grazie Romano!” he shouted out as he hugged his brother, only now breaking his hold on Ludwig, only to retake it when their hug broke.

“You’d better take care of my brother,” Romano sneered at Ludwig, “You hurt him and I will cut your balls off.”

Ludwig frowned at the boy, but Feliciano laughed the threat off and let out a tiny hum as he turned to the larger boy, “Ludwig, let’s go, how far is your house?”

“Not far,” Ludwig replied, watching as Romano turned to storm away. “Is your brother always like that?” he asked as he began to walk to the changing rooms; planning to simply take his stuff and walk not, not bothering to change.

“Uh, he wasn’t always… Since we left Italia he’s gotten worse. He, uh…” He looked at his feet as they walked, and Ludwig opened the door to get his school stuff. “He doesn’t want me to be hurt again.”

“What do you mean?” Ludwig asked, picking up his bag and wondering if the boy had mixed up his translation, “Hurt? How?”

Feliciano squeezed Ludwig’s hand as they again exited the building, “My, old boyfriend, uh… rotto mio cuore, he was ill and just before we moved he...” he swallowed hard, not wanting to say the final word but hoping Ludwig would know what he meant.

“Oh…” Ludwig said through his teeth; he’d never had that kind of experience, never been in any kind of serious romantic relationship, never had a break up.

“Yeah, I was upset for weeks, but because of it I decided that I would… make sure I told the next person I liked how I felt,” he paused for a second, “And that is you.”

Ludwig nodded, letting their walking pace slow to a near crawl, “Ok,” he said quietly, unsure how else to respond to that sort of information. Did that make him just a rebound guy? He didn’t want his first relationship to be a rebound one.

He thought carefully over how he felt, “I don’t want to be in a relationship with you if you’re not over him…”

“I am over him,” Feliciano said, smiling gently, “As much as I can be, at least; I’ve been without him longer than we were together.”

Ludwig nodded and began to walk a little faster, knowing they only had an hour, which would be 40 minutes by the time they reached the house.

“I do like you, Ludwig,” Feliciano confirmed to himself, “I do, and I don’t want to waste time; what if something were to happen to you tomorrow? I would feel worse because we would not even have a chance, this way we do, a little.”

Ludwig smiled and moved closer to Feliciano, breaking their hold so he could wrap his arm around the boy’s waist. Feliciano let out a squeak of happiness at this new closeness.

“I think I understand what you mean, Feliciano,” Ludwig said quietly as they continued to walk, nearing Ludwig’s house now.

Feliciano nodded and pressed himself to Ludwig’s side, “Good, I’m happy that you like me, Ludwig.”

Ludwig smiled softly as they rounded the corner to his house, “I am happy too.”

 

 Ludwig liked this ‘new relationship’ thing, it was like they had skipped the first few awkward days and had gone straight to the nice part.

“This is my house,” Ludwig announced as they found themselves at the top of the short garden path, “Well, mine and my brother’s.”

“What about your parents?” Feliciano asked.

Ludwig bit his lip, “Uh, they don’t live here… I’d rather not talk about it,” he mumbled. He exhaled gently and forced a smile, “Would you like to see our birds?”

Feliciano sighed gently and smiled widely, “Si I would love to.” He kept the smile on his face as Ludwig led him around the back of the house, his smile widened as he set his eyes on the large aviary, “Oh mio, Ludwig, e enorme!”

“-That’s the only time you’re going to hear that, Ludwig,” came a voice from inside the aviary, where Gilbert sat.

“What?” Ludwig questioned, frowning.

“It means ‘massive’ or something doesn’t it?” he replied, aiming the question at Feliciano.

Feliciano nodded, “S-Si, it does,” he said, slightly confused by the meaning of Gilbert’s words.  “May… May I see the birds, please?”

Gilbert walked to the door of the wood-mesh structure, “Of course,” he said, eyes clamped on their entwined bodies, “But none of _that_ in here please,” he said with a gesture to them, “My birds are too young to witness such things.”

Feliciano let out a small ‘aw’ of disappointment as he felt Ludwig’s arm slacken and fall from his waist. After a short pause he smiled again, “Which one is your bird, Ludwig?”

Ludwig looked over the faux branches and perches that were scattered over the 13x13 box, “He is there,” he said, pointing to the green parrot that sat at eye-height across the enclosure.

Feliciano cooed and slowly began to approach, he giggled at it’s appearance, “It looks like it’s wearing a collar,” he pointed out.

“Ja,” Ludwig said, also walking towards the bird, outstretching his hand and clicking his tongue to call the parrot to him, “So we call him Kragen.”

Feliciano looked around at the other birds, “Why’s he different to the others?” he asked, noticing that the others were all bright yellow, and considerably smaller.

“Because _my_ birds,” Gilbert started, “Are parrotlets. They’re much more awesome than Ludwig’s ring-necked thing.”

“Do they all live outside?” Feliciano chirruped, ignoring the snide in Gilbert’s tone, disabling it completely.

“No,” Ludwig replied, “There is a window,” he pointed to a window on the wall of the house, “So they can go in the bird-room if they want.”

Feliciano made his way to the window and peered through, seeing a small maze of wooden planks, “You really love your birds don’t you?” he said, looking in awe at the effort put into the enclosure.

Gilbert nodded, “I do,” he confirmed, “I have since I got my Gilbird, when I was 5…” he located the bird and pointed to it, “He is almost 13 now, I’m afraid he might not have much time left.”

Feliciano frowned sadly, “Oh, I’m sorry…” he perked up again, “But at least you have 4 others? So you won’t be left all alone.”

Gilbert nodded, “Yes, but it won’t be the same when he goes.”

There was a second of silence, neither Feliciano or Ludwig knowing what to say in response. Gilbert forced a smile, “I’m going to make our dinner… Would you like any, Feliciano?”

Feliciano smiled, “Si… well I would but my brother will be picking me up soon, so I will have no time.”

Ludwig made his way to Feliciano’s side, letting the boy take his hand, “We’ll stay out here, Gilbert,” he said with a smile.

Gilbert frowned, making his way to the door of the aviary, “Fine, don’t let the birds out, and don’t do anything… inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate?” Feliciano asked, turning his head to Ludwig as Gilbert left them, “What does he mean?”

Ludwig let out an odd ‘Uh’ noise, “…Something that we shouldn’t be doing. Like… making out or something.”

Feliciano frowned, “What is that? ‘Making out?’”

Ludwig paused again, “Kissing, but… intense kissing.”

“We can’t kiss in here? Why not?” Feliciano said with a squeak, frowning sadly and tugging gently on Ludwig’s sleeve.

Ludwig huffed lightly, “We can, but, not too much.”

Feliciano frowned and exhaled, “I don’t understand. I would like to kiss you, and no one is here, so why can we not?”

Ludwig leaned in to give Feliciano a gentle kiss, putting his hand to the boy’s hip and gripping him softly, letting out a gentle hum and smiling as he pulled away, “We can kiss, but only like that.”

The younger boy giggled gently, “Oh,” he said happily, raising himself onto his toes to gift Ludwig with an equally soft kiss, lasting slightly longer than Ludwig’s one.

Ludwig let out another hum as their kiss broke, and Feliciano smiled widely at the noise, “I like that you do that…”

“Do what?”

“The noise you do,” Feliciano answered, “When we kiss, you make noise.”

Ludwig cocked his head minutely, “I do?”

Feliciano nodded, lifting himself into another kiss and listening for the older boy’s hum again. Giggling a little when he heard it, “It is very cute and makes me want to kiss you more.”

“We can’t just stand here and kiss,” Ludwig said with a slight growl, his grip on the smaller boy unfaltering. He lifted his head to look around the aviary, “We should sit and talk,” he suggested, manoeuvring Feliciano towards an empty and generally clean space, sitting down and pulling the boy down with him.

Feliciano glanced around, watching the birds play overhead, before settling his eyes finally on Ludwig’s own.

“We should talk?” he asked, repeating the end of Ludwig’s sentence as if reminding him he’d said it.

“Yes,” Ludwig nodded, “Uh,” he bit his lip, trying to think of something to say, he opened his mouth to speak, but the younger boy interrupted him.

“Why did you get that parrot?” he asked happily.

Ludwig let out a small hum in thinking, “I was given money for my birthday, and I saw how happy Gilbert was with his birds, so I decided to get one.”

“Why that one? Why not a giallo one?” Feliciano asked immediately.

Ludwig took a moment again to think of his reasons, “I didn’t want Gilbert to claim it as one of his, and…” his smile softened slightly, and his voice quietened a little as he talked, “I like the idea of a bird with a collar.”

“Why?” Feliciano asked immediately again, cocking his head slightly.

Ludwig shrugged, seeming to fold in on himself slightly, “I don’t know.”

Feliciano smiled widely, laughing to himself, “Si, you do! Tell me.”

Ludwig shifted where he sat, “I like that he can fly, and go anywhere, but he still has a collar on… I don’t know.”

Feliciano smiled softly and nodded, “It’s like he’s not free even though he is, because natura has given him a collar.”

Ludwig smiled widely, “Kinda, yeah, I like it…”

Feliciano’s smile widened to match Ludwig’s, “I like it too,” he chimed, “And the collar is molto pretty.”

Ludwig nodded, and again silence fell between them, until once again Feliciano filled it, “Where are you from?” he asked, “Your accent isn’t from here.”

Ludwig shook his head, “No,” he confirmed, “It is German. …Ludwig is a German name.”

“Oh,” Feliciano squeaked, “All names that aren’t Italian sound weird to me… I wasn’t sure.”

“You don’t need to apologise, it’s not your fault you didn’t know. How long have you ben in this country?” Ludwig decided to ask, it was something he’d been wondering most of the day.

Feliciano chewed his lip a little as he thought, “About… uh. Two months and one half.”

“That’s not long,” Ludwig observed, “How much English did you know before you came?”

Feliciano shook his head, “Very little at all, almost none. My brother is teaching it to me though, he is very good at English and I also have my Grandpa and he has spoken English all his life.”

Ludwig nodded, “You said your Grandfather moved you here for work, do you live with him? Not your parents?”

The smaller boy seemed to shrink a little at the sentence, “Si, that’s right.”

Ludwig gave a small exhale, his eyes darting to his own hands, “You don’t want to talk about it?” he asked quietly.

He looked up to see Feliciano shake his head and reply “No, just as you would not.”

Ludwig nodded and bit his lip, “Ja, ok.” He swallowed hard, he recognised the boy’s tone, that look, and he knew not to pursue it.

The other boy, again, was the one to break the silence, letting out a tiny huff to clear the air before smiling widely, “What is your favourite food?” he squeaked.

“That is a pointless question,” Ludwig smirked, “…I like wurst. You don’t find it much over here though.”

“That’s unfair,” Feliciano chimed, “My favourite food is pasta, but it’s easy to find, and I can make it myself. I do like making food, my Grandpa says he would like for me to be a chef. If you were to come to my house I could try to make you wurst.”

“I would like that.”

Feliciano let out a happy sigh, leaning back on his hands and looking up through the faux trees, focusing on the parrots and their soft calls. Without speaking he shifted slightly, turning to rest his head on Ludwig’s shoulder.

Ludwig let out a soft exhale, his own eyes following Feliciano’s up towards the parrots, watching them interact.

“I like parrots,” Feliciano observed, “They always look… I don’t know the word, like royalty.”

“Regal?” Ludwig offered in answer, wrapping his arm around Feliciano’s waist and giving the boy a soft squeeze.

Feliciano nodded gently, “They look like they should have crowns on.”

Ludwig let out a small chuckle, thinking to himself as he watched his parrot play with the smaller yellow ones. “You can get ones with crowns,” he said after a few seconds, “Not _proper_ crowns, of course, but that is what they’re called.”

Feliciano giggled, leaning into Ludwig’s body, “I would like one of them, they sound bello.”

Ludwig smiled widely and looked at the smaller man, “When is your birthday?” he asked, “I may get you one for next year.”

“My birthday was five days ago,” Feliciano smiled, he paused and nodded exuberantly, “If we are still together, or still friends next year, it would be nice to get one for my birthday.”

Ludwig turned his head to give Feliciano a soft kiss, as if sealing the deal with it. Feliciano smiled at the contact and looked up at the taller boy, giving him an equally soft kiss.

“You are very nice to me,” Feliciano mused quietly, playing with the faux grass flooring, smiling gently.

Ludwig nodded, watching Feliciano’s actions, “Well, you are nice to me, I should be nice too.”

“You don’t have to be.”

Ludwig smiled and huffed slightly; that was the point of it, wasn’t it? He didn’t have to be nice, they didn’t have to act like this, but they did, it seemed so natural.

“My brother will be here soon,” Feliciano said in the same quiet tone, “I don’t really want to go.”

“I know,” Ludwig replied, able to tell from the man’s tone how true that was, “But we have school again tomorrow, I can meet you before, and we can spend lunch together, and we have English Language again tomorrow so we will sit together during that.”

A bright smile returned to Feliciano’s face, “You make me wish for tomorrow.”

Ludwig looked towards the nearby road, slightly dreading each car that went past, thinking that it might be Feliciano’s brother.

“That is him…” Feliciano said sadly as he saw a deep green car approach, “I have to go.”

He got to his feet, and turned to see Ludwig follow the action, they walked together towards the entrance to the aviary. Ludwig opened it and smiled at the smaller man as he exited.

Ludwig locked the door and looked up to see that Feliciano was already half way across the lawn, he sped to catch up with him. “Feliciano, there is no rush,” he said as he reached the boy’s side.

Feliciano frowned as he walked, “Yes there is, Romano will be annoyed if I am late after I made plans at such short notice.”

The boy flinched slightly as his brother beeped the horn on his car, Ludwig frowned and stopped, pulling the boy to him and leaning over to place a long and soft kiss on his lips.

Feliciano let out a tiny squeak as the taller boy pulled away, “Ludwig,” he said, blushing, his eyes flicked towards his brothers car, the horn now honking viciously. “Romano saw that…”

“Then he will have something to shout about,” Ludwig smirked, swaying slightly as he gripped Feliciano’s hip.

Feliciano giggled and pulled away, “I do have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow ok?”

Ludwig nodded, and smiled as he watched the boy walk to the car, opening the door to a shrill of loud music and yelling. He exhaled as the car drove off, and turned back towards his own house, still smiling as he opened the door and walked to the kitchen, where Gilbert stood, making their tea.

“Your friend is gone?” Gilbert asked, not turning his eyes from their current focus of the potatoes he was slicing.

“Yes,” Ludwig replied shortly, hoping that his older brother would not jibe at him for this new ‘friendship’ now that the other boy was gone.

“You like him?” Gilbert inquired again, his voice still calm, though Ludwig couldn’t see any expression on him.

“Yes,” Ludwig replied, feeling his throat become dry, he was sure he wouldn’t feel as bad if he could see Gilbert’s face.

“Good,” Gilbert replied, “I hope he will make you happy.”


End file.
